I don’t think there was ever any doubt that Hytale would share similarities with Minecraft. Back in 2015, work on the recently released Early Access title began from a team that ran Minecraft’s most successful multiplayer server, Hypixel, and from the first trailer, the blocky parallels were evident.
With such crossover appeal, Minecraft’s lead developer, Jens Bergensten, has dipped his toes into Hytale’s waters, and while he feels the game is “very polished,” he says he would “like it to be more different to Minecraft.”
Bergensten has been with Minecraft from the beginning, programming the game in its lead-up to launch, and becoming lead developer just a few months after. There is nobody more qualified, then, to assess the state of Hytale at launch.
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The addition will be coming “in a few updates.”
When asked for his thoughts on the game on Bluesky, Bergensten responded, “I’d like it to be more different to Minecraft. It’s very polished, but the feeling I get when I play [Hytale] is that I’d rather just play Minecraft. It’s very early, though, and I know modding will be an important aspect. I will definitely play more later.”
The feeling I get when I play [Hytale] is that I’d rather just play Minecraft.
It feels like a bit of a backhanded compliment from Bergensten. On one hand, he admits the game is polished, on the other, he basically says he’d rather not play it. Hypixel’s creator, Simon Collins-Laflamme, took it all in his stride, though.
“Jebs saying Hytale feels very polished is the best compliment we could ever get,” he responded. “He is someone I respect very much, and I know he doesn’t talk much publicly about other games, so I appreciate that.”
Bergensten’s comments then offered Collins-Laflamme a moment to reflect. “I agree with a lot of the negative feedback and take notes all day. I have been saying for months that Hytale still has a long way to go, and I still believe it, which is why I keep working every single day,” he continued, adding, “I understand Jebs’ sentiment when he says, ‘I’d rather just play Minecraft.’ At this point, he is probably right to feel this way; we haven’t had time to add all the features that make us unique, and the early-game experience we have is quite barebones compared to what we can do with World Gen V2 and other upcoming features.”
He says that Hytale wasn’t designed to “compete with or replace Minecraft,” and instead, will be “something new, more combat-adventure-based, exploration and fantasy-based,” and that “In the coming years, you will see a major shift between Minecraft and Hytale.”
- Released
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January 13, 2026
- Developer(s)
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Hypixel Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Hypixel Studios
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Number of Players
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Single-player
- Early Access Release
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January 13, 2026
